{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T04:16:39Z","timestamp":1789445799851,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]],"date-time":"2025-09-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758499200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Men who have sex with men (MSM) are vulnerable to mental health problems. Some psychosocial interventions showed different effects on various mental health aspects, but the exact pooled effect size was uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for mental health among MSM.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We included randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies of psychosocial interventions aimed at improving the mental health of MSM. The outcomes were the effect sizes of overall mental health and specific aspects (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, stress, coping, emotion, social function and identity). The fixed-effect or random-effect model was adopted to calculate the effect sizes. The study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42024551392).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>We included 14 studies conducted between 2010 and 2024. The effect size of intervention for overall mental health status was 0.14 (95%CI: 0.08-0.21, n=14, I2 = 28.23%). The interventions had positive effects in depressive symptoms (Hedges\u2019 g=0.25, 95%CI: 0.09-0.41), anxiety symptoms (Hedges\u2019 g=0.20, 95%CI: 0.12-0.29), substance abuse (Hedges\u2019 g=0.19, 95%CI: 0.10-0.28), stress (Hedges\u2019 g=0.18, 95%CI: 0.03-0.33), coping (Hedges\u2019 g=0.21, 95%CI: 0.06-0.36), emotion (Hedges\u2019 g=0.16, 95%CI: 0.06-0.25), and identity (Hedges\u2019 g=0.19, 95%CI: 0.07-0.30). There was no publication bias.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>Psychosocial interventions have a small-to-moderate effect on improving the mental health status of the MSM. Our study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the intervention effect, with estimations of overall mental health status and some specific aspects.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Systematic review registration<\/jats:title><jats:p><jats:uri>https:\/\/www.crd.york.ac.uk\/prospero\/<\/jats:uri>, identifier CRD42024551392.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2025.1612755","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]],"date-time":"2025-09-22T05:29:51Z","timestamp":1758518991000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Effectiveness of psychosocial interventions to improve the mental health in men who have sex with men: a systematic review and meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Shuochi","family":"Wei","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samantha Jeannie","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiaxin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Edmond Pui Hang","family":"Choi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"William Chi Wai","family":"Wong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"World mental health report: transforming mental health for all","year":"2022"},{"key":"B2","volume-title":"The right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health of persons, communities and populations affected by discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals","author":"Madrigal-Borloz","year":"2022"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101579","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2023.101579","article-title":"Minority stress theory: Application, critique, and continued relevance","volume":"51","author":"Frost","year":"2023","journal-title":"Curr Opin Psychol"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1071\/SH16083","article-title":"Mental health in 2020 for men who have sex with men in the United States","volume":"14","author":"Batchelder","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sex Health"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2023.1179703","article-title":"Loneliness and depressive symptoms among men who have sex with men in China: A cross-sectional study","volume":"14","author":"Liu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Psychiatry"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1186\/s12991-022-00414-1","article-title":"What is the global prevalence of depression among men who have sex with men? 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